Bean-sorter.



0. SUTTER.

BEAN soRTER.

APPLIOATION FILED 00T. 29, 1908. V

Patented May 4, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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` BEAN soRTBR.

Y APPLICATION FILED 00T. 29,1908.

920,499, Patented May 4, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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UNITED STATES PATENT FCFL.

OLE SUTTER, OF ISANTI, MNNESOTA.

BEAN-SORTER.

Patented May 4, 1909.

Serial No. 460,031.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, OLE SU'r'rER, citizen of the United States, residingat Isanti, in the county of lsanti and State of lrlinnesota, haveinvented certain new and useful lmprovements in Bean-Sorters; and l dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved machineespecially adapted for use in sorting beans, peas and coffee, and tothis end, it consists of the novel devices and combinations of deviceshereinafter describe-d and defined in the claims.

Hitherto it has been customary in sorting beans and certain othermaterials, to employ an endless traveling belt or apron as a carriertherefor, and to pick up and remove by hand all discolored or imperfectbeans. This has been found to be a' slow process because of theconsiderable difliculty of picking up or removing the discolored orimperfect beans from the belt containing the thinly spread out body ofcommingled perfect and imperfect stock.

My invention very greatly facilitates the removal of the discolored orimperfect beans or other kernels of material being sorted, by theprovision of a traveling carrier, preferably in the form of an endlessbelt or apron having pockets with yielding bottoms. Vith this improvedbelt or carrier, the beans or the kernels of the material being sorted,will be lodged in the multiplioity of pockets, and discolored orimperfect beans may be very easily and quickly discharged from the saidbelt or carrier, simply by forcing the same downward through the bottomsof the said pockets.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention, likecharacters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings: Figure l is a plan view of the improvedmachine; Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line x2 rc2 of Fig.l; Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken through the machine onthe line m3 of Fig. 2; Fig. L is an enlarged detail in plan, showing aportion of the pocketed endless belt; and Fig. 5 is a section taken onthe line m5 of Fig. 4f.

The endless belt or apron which is arranged te run over large rollers 2and 3, is journaled in suitable bearings on the sides of a frame work 6,and the shaft 5 is journaled in bearings Y, that are mounted to slide insuitable seats formed in the upper side portions of the frame 6. Saidbearings l" are )Provided with threaded .stems 8 that project throughperforations in a transverse portion 6a of the frame 6, and are providedwith nuts 9 that work against the said fr me portions 6a and serve, whentightened, to move the roller 3 away from the roller 2 and therebytighten the belt l.

The belt l is provided with a multiplicity of pockets la having yieldingbottoms, which, as shown, are afforded by light flat springs l. Thepockets lfL should be of such size that cach will receive but one beanor one kernal of the material that is to be sorted. The bottom formedsprings 1b, at one end, are attached to the belt l, and their free endsunderlie corresponding pockets la and preferably project a little morethan one-half way across the longitudinal axis of the said pockets.

A supply hopper l0 is secured to the fran'ie (3 above the roller 3, andis provided in its bottom with a discharge passage l1 'that opensdirectly onto a corrugated feed roller l2, the shaft of which projectsthrough the upwardly extended side portions of the frame G, and isprovided with a sheave 13, shown in Fig. l. To prevent too rapid feed ofthe beans from the hopper under rotation of the roller l2, a curvedyielding blade 14 is shown as attached to the bottom of the hopper andengaged with the top of said roller. ln front of the roller 12, andabove the upper portion of the belt 1, the frame (3 is provided with atransverse bar 6b, to which another bar l5 is connected with freedom forvertical adjustments, by means of nutted bolts 16. At its lower edge,the bar l5 is provided. with a brush body 17, which when properlyadjusted, lightly engages the entire upper surface of the belt l, andserves to hold back beans which have not been deposited in the pocketsla.

The belt l and the feed roller 12 may be driven in a good many differentways, but as shown, they are arranged to receive motion from a foottreadle 1S, pivotally connected to the lower front portion of the frame6, and connected by a link 19 to a crank shaft Q() suitably mounted inbearings afforded by the frame 6. Atene end, the

'marily tree tor rotation on said crank shaft,

While the sleeve is held to rotate With said shatt, as shown, by meansotl a slotand pin coin'iection Q4. The sprocket 2Q and the sleeve areprovided with normally engaging clutch members A sprocket chain runsover the sprocket 22 and over a larger sprocketl 2T secured on one endot the shaft 4 of the roller 9,. Adjacent to said sprocket 27, the saidshaft il is provided with a sheave 28Vov`er which, and the slieare i3 onthe shaft of the feed roller 12, a belt Q9 is arranged to run so as tothereby impart rotary movement to the said feed roller.

The clutch members 25 are so arranged that they Will drive the sprocketWhen the crank shaft is rotated in the proper direccion, to drive thebelt l in the direction indicated by the a-rroiv marked adjacent theretoon Fig. but they Will slip the one npon the other when the said crankshaft is rotated in a reverse direction, to\vit, in a direction whichwill tend to impart a backward travel to the said belt l..

Then the'shea ve is used t'or sorting beans, tor instance, the good orperfect beans will be carried by the belt l and dropped onto theinclined spout 30, :trom which they may be caught by any suitablereceptacle. The imperfect beans, Whichare pushed through the pockets otthe belt l, will drop onto the transversely inclined spout 3l and Willbe delivered at one side otl the machine, and

may, ot course, be caught by any suitable receptacle. To torce the beansthrough the bottoms ot the pockets of the belt l, as above stated, aiinger may be used, or a small stick or pencil, or other suitabledevices may be employed. ln practice, it has been tound that beans maybe very rapidly sorted by the use of this improved machine.

The machine Will also be found highly eiticient tor use in sorting peasand in sorting; unground cotiee kernels. In practice, it may be' foundeiiicient for the sorting of a gjreat many other diterent kinds ofmaiteria-ls.

What i claim is:

l. ln a machine of the hind described7` a traveling belt or apronprovided with pockets having' yielding bottoms, thesaid pockets formedby pert'orations in the said belt o apron, the said yielding bottomsbeing; alti'orded by springs attached at one end to said belt or apron,with their free ends underlyino said perforations.

A; ii 'ble non-metallic belt or apron provided with` pockets formed byperforations in the body thereof, in combination with yieldiiigly heldmetallic lingers each secured to4 said belt adjacent to one ot saidpockets and each normally underlying and constitutino a' 7ieldin-L`bottom to a oo erating` pocket.

In testimony whereof I aiX my signature in presence ot two Witnesses.

OLE SUTTER.`

lVitnesses F. D. MERCHANT, H. D. Kiiieonn.

